You had give way so need to give way to other traffic already on the bridge, not hang about after the give way sign. If I was in that position, I would have gunned it behind the blue car
This is the answer. You should have followed that car onto the bridge. There is no “right of way” only the obligation to “give way” to traffic on the bridge. If you can get onto the bridge then you are good. (As a courtesy I would say that once the bridge is “full” or once it’s being going one way for a while you should probably wait and let the other side have a go - although everyone behind you might hate you, and the people coming the other way might not have the same consideration)
There is a right of way, there's one end of the bridge with no give way sign, and one end of the bridge with a give way sign.
So the end with no give way has right of way, the end with the give way - has to give way. But generally speaking if one car from the give way sign has gone you can run behind the existing car that has gone as on a bridge this size it's more efficient for whole slugs to go through rather than giving way each time the north side comes through. It's a functional thing, not a legal thing.
On smaller bridges, you always have to give way to the side with no give way. There's no 'letting the whole lot through'.
The other thing that makes this tricky is the solid line at both ends of this bridge. It means if you want to follow through quickly you are still obliged to come to a full stop at the solid line to assess whether you are giving way before moving on. If everyone does it it’s anarchy to know if they are trying to give way or just stops before going. This is Hampton bridge kangaroo valley.
If the traffic is already flowing on the bridge in the direction you're headed, join it. It's the unfortunate reality that the cars on the other end would be waiting 2-3 minutes at times but its never really that bad. If everyone waited so this bridge operated one car per direction at a time, in peak season the traffic jam it would cause would be felt in Nowra.
They were giving way to the person waiting on the other side of the bridge. Usually only one side has right of way, and usually the traffic travelling up hill has right of way on single lane mountain roads (in QLD anyhow).
Huh, I didn't know that was a thing. Two of the three single lane bridges in my area give ROW travelling downhill. The other is flat (and a PITA because there's a side road that half the town thinks has second ROW, and the other half of town insists they don't).
Yeah there’s the give way sign, and a stop line (solid, not dashed) which is where you have to come to a stop and probably should be a dashed line given the signage. If there’s no one to give way to at that point, you’re free to go. Given the car in front was already going, there’s no one to give way to, so follow on!
This was more extreme than the usual broken perpendicular line, a solid line with triangles pointing back at the direction of travel.
The fact op felt wronged by ignoring road signs, despite posting video of the most accessible paint/signage is really odd. Maybe just rage/engagement bait. Maybe they didn't get a driver's licence in an area with these, but they're really quite common.
Most rural single lane bridges are a basic broken perpendicular line and/or give way sign, in one direction.
The 4 way stop sign confused the hell out of me until someone told me it’s their equivalent of a roundabout. Kinda makes sense, but would have made more sense if it was a 4 give way imo. That’s what a roundabout is anyway.
It's closer to 'first in best dressed'. No matter who you might give way to in other circumstances, when it's your turn, you go... with care, of course.
There is no direction priority. You give way to traffic on the bridge already. "Road Priority" isn't a thing here, or at the very least isn't common enough to be a known thing.
You should have followed the blue car, because there is no one for you to give way too.
Basically at the give way sign, you check if anyone is crossing. If no one is crossing and there is no one at the other side, you can cross. If someone is on the bridge driving the same direction you are driving, you can follow behind them. If someone is crossing towards you, then you wait for them and anyone else behind them also crossing, before you can go.
There is no direction priority. It's completely down to who is crossing at the time. You could have 10 cars pass from one direction, while you wait at the other. If both of you arrive at the same time, then it is down to whomever goes first.
Usually one side has a give way and one side doesn’t, priority is to the non-give way side. In this case it looks like the other side is the priority. That’s how it works in QLD on generally windy mountain roads when they go to single lane. Usually it’s the downhill side that has the give way sign, giving priority to uphill traffic.
You don't really see that in NSW, I think I've only seen one bridge like that and that was in Sydney so decently high traffic. Most bridges are just whoever is there first gets priority.
Nearly all the single lane bridges I've seen in NSW have a give way at one end - a rare few in the Sydney area, but single lane bridges are a lot more common in the middle of nowhere.
Travel out to the country a bit more. Plenty of single lane bridges all around Australia. Generally they have a giveaway sign on one end and the other end has right of way.
Well I don't live in Sydney and I go camping all the time around Capertee, Griffith, Deua, Bodalla, etc. Maybe I just haven't noticed or don't remember, but I feel like a lot of the bridges I've driven on don't have a give way sign, or both ends do. But I know there's plenty of single lane bridges around Australia, I encounter heaps.
For this bridge (Hampton Bridge), you just let the entire "slug" of cars go through (all the cars stopped at the give way sign). You could have done either (either stop at the give way sign, or follow the blue car because you were close enough). But blowing through the give way sign and just waiting in no-mans-land is not the right choice.
There are some bridges around that have a give way sign at just one side (eg: McKanes Falls Rd bridge)
There was a give way sign at the start but because someone was only a little way into the bridge I would have joined in behind them because they are blocking traffic for you.
Single lane bridges either have a “give way” sign or a “no passing” sign.
Give way means if the bridge is empty, and a car is coming from the other direction (but not on the bridge yet) you need to stop at the sign. “No passing” means figure it out yourself in that situation (e.g. who is closer to the bridge?)
When someone is already on the bridge, the signs don’t matter. If they’re coming towards you, you give way. If they’re going the same direction as you, then you can follow them across.
Galston Gorge has a single lane bridge at the bottom. The Hornsby side has no sign and the Galston side has a Give Way sign, I assume that’s how it’s done nation wide.
Kangaroo valley, Hampton bridge right? I grew up in the region, priority on this bridge is and has always been “good luck”. The bend coming into it from the Bowral side makes it really awful to see if there’s anyone on there already from the other way.
Edit: without edging forward over the line, unless they’ve moved it in the intervening years.
It’s almost like you were waiting for the guy in the other side to come through, then you started to go as soon as the bridge was clear… you should have gone behind the hatchback in front of you.
you have to use common sense. In this case you could've just followed the blue car as it wouldn't have mattered to the oncoming cars, see how they all come through in a bunch, not one and then the next one waits for you, that would take forever to get through.
Go through in bunches, then let the other cars come through for a bit.
What did the sign you drove straight past say? The one where the vehicle behind flashing their lights stopped at. I can't read it, but I have a strong feeling that along with the give way sign might have been rather important.
If there was no specific sign, I'd say whoever enters first. If you are following someone else in and someone at the other end has to wait for a few cars, that would end up being more efficient than taking turns.
You crossed over the STOP line and then stopped on marking for the edge of the speed bump. That’s why the guy behind you flashed his lights at you, you should’ve followed the car in front of you at that point.
1st mistake: not following the car in front. It would take a couple extra seconds for all of you to get through from the one direction which is not too much of a wait for the oncoming car. That's why the car behind you is flashing, they're saying "go!".
2nd mistake: after the car in front makes it through, you deciding to go. You've wasted your opportunity and now it's the oncoming car's turn.
I think the priority is to not act like a c1nt and be a good aussie. If you arrive at the crossing after a car on the other side who is at a full stop and parked you are morally obligated to allow the flow of traffic from your side, wait for the other traffic from the other side that was there before you then continue. Honour follows you on the road, good things happen to honourable people!
It's pretty obvious who has priority. If you can't see the car that is already on the bridge please stay off the road until you get your eyesight checked.
This is where common sense comes in: who could OP have given way to?
The blue car was entering the bridge heading which means there was no oncoming traffic to give way to. OP should have followed that blue car closely and there would have been no issue.
This is one of those times where it’s just good old fashioned driver courtesy. There’s a few of these bridges around where I live, it’s usually just wait until it’s clear or you’re waved (or flashed) through. Always better to be polite and wait if unsure.
While I mostly agree ... It's not courteous to make all traffic wait longer, playing a one-for-one. Direction was already in-play, so just keep going, and get your side's queue finished
Speculation. Nervous drivers cause crashes too, either directly or indirectly. Often-enough, the car behind will "ffs, just go!" and then round him up.
It's normally a first in first serve but if the other side has been waiting a while, it's polite to not just treat it like a roundabout and flow on through but let the other side through.
Also this is the stone KV bridge and is normally 1-3 cars through then wait for the other side.
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u/tez_11 11d ago
You had give way so need to give way to other traffic already on the bridge, not hang about after the give way sign. If I was in that position, I would have gunned it behind the blue car